Breast cancer patients' language use across four stages

The current study reported a language analysis of breast cancer patients’
posts in an online support group. Adopting web-scrapping techniques, the
study analyzed 27,078 online posts made by 1,443 users along multiple
linguistic dimensions to glance into the trajectory of the patients’
psychosocial adaptation of the disease. The findings suggested that breast
cancer patients’ emotional experiences and adjustment in the course of
illness vary from one stage to another. They reached the peak of emotional
expression, struggle and despair, and self-focus at Stage III, whereas
wiped out negative emotions and signaled a desire for connections with
others at Stage IV.